I look to SS to one day augment my income. One thing I have been convinced of is that SS will eventually be means-tested--probably by the time my fellow boomers are eligible. OTOH I read how posters like RetiredVermonter are able to use SS to meet most of his family's living expenses.

So I have come to the following conclusion: during the pre-SS years, it couldn't hurt to try to meet most of your fixed living expenses equal to what you'd draw from SS and any applicable pensions.

If you did this, I see two probable outcomes when you reach SS eligibility age:

1) Your portfolio's value is high enough so that SS gets means-tested away.

2) You're eligible for SS so you reduce your investment withdrawals by the amount of your SS payments.

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